Pattern drum for knitting machines



Sept. 10, 1957 w. B. BREWER ETAL 2,805,563-

PATTERN DRUM FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed March 5, 1956 FlG.4

FIG. l

INVENTOR William B. Brewer Eugene Hinkle United? States Patent Ofiice 2,805,563 Patented Sept. 10, 1957 PATTERN DRUM FOR KNITTING MACHINES William B. Brewer, Graham, and Eugene Hinkle,

Burlington, N. C.

Application March 5, 1956, Serial No. 569,477

14 Claims. (Cl. 66-156) stacking axially in alternating order a number of flat pattern disks or rings and flat spacer rings about a cylindrical drum which serves as a supporting mandrel. The flat pattern disks are provided with radially projecting frangible pattern elements about the outer periphery of the disks. By selectively removing a number of the frangible pattern elements in accordance with particular pattern requirements the desired pattern will be achieved upon finally assembling the pattern disks and spacer rings in a predetermined order on the drum mandrel.

Removing selected frangible portions on the pattern disks is very time consuming and extremely costly. Furthermore, once the pattern disks are used for one pattern makeup they are not reusable normally when the pattern is revised and necessitates modified programming or a different sequence of operation in the newly constituted pattern. Thus it will be quite evident that pattern'revisions are rather costly depending upon the cost of the material replacement and the labor involved in making thepattern changes. 7

Several attempts have been made to provide a changeable pattern drum such as has been proposed in U. 5. Patent No. 1,846,690 in which elements of different lengths are vertically stacked in column form with one element above the other in which case the removal of a single element in the column virtually requires either the removal of an entire column for a pattern change or a means for supporting the remaining elements .during pattern changes. Another proposal was made in U. S. Patent No. 1,940,598 wherein individual lugs are to be mounted .and supported by axially spaced releasable locking 'ring members and wherein the ring members are supported .on a special type pattern lug and ring retaining hub member. These devices of the prior art have proved to be not only awkward to use in modifying pattern changes but also rather expensive to produce.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is the provision of a pattern drum for knitting machines in which the pattern may be altered readily without disturbing other portions of the existing or formedpattern.

Another object of the present invention is .to provide-a changeable pattern drum in which pattern mutations are facilitated with a minimum amount of manipulation of the remaining portions of the pattern which remain in position during the mutations.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a knitting machine pattern drum in which the pattern is constituted by a large number of replaceable pattern elements of selective lengths and one in which the pa'ttern elements are reusable repeatedly in any part of the. pattern drum.

Still another object of the present invention ,is the provision of a pattern drum for knitting machines wherein the pattern face is constituted by circumferentially spaced vertical columns of removable pattern elements of selective lengths and in which the pattern elements may be removed individually as well as in large numbers within a formed pattern for replacement by different length elements to form another pattern without disrupting the relative positions of the remaining portions of the previous pattern.

Other and further objects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily apparent as the invention becomes better understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which like characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a knitting machine pattern drum incorporating the present inventive concept;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view with a portion in section of the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse partial sectional view taken substantially along the plane of line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an exploded view showing the various essential components of one form of the changeable pattern drum of the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a greatly enlarged perspective view of two pattern elements of different lengths illustrating the relative displacement of the elements when mounted in position on a drum.

Referring to the drawing and particularly to Fig. 4 there is shown a cylindrical pattern drum or pattern element carrier 10 in which there is provided an axial bore 11 and keyway 12 for securely mounting the pattern drum for operation on a pattern drum shaft of a conventional Banner automatic knitting machine such as the combination '8 step wrap attachment and 12 step reverse plaiting machine. Longitudinal slots 13 are milled into the outer periphery of the drum 10 with the slots circumferentially spaced from each other for a suitable distance about the drum depending upon the type and configuration of the pattern elements or inserts which are to be employed and to be described hereinafter. Each of the longitudinal slots 13 extends radially inward for a uniform distance thereby forming longitudinal ribs 14 between the slots about the drum periphery. The ribs '14 serve to separate as well as to provide added bearing contact supporting surface for the individual insert elements. The slots 13 are adaptable as receiving sockets for the uniform reduced tip securing ends 17 of the in dividual pattern elements 18 and 19.

A ratchet wheel 15 with ratchet teeth 16 thereon is secured by suitable fastening means at the other end of the drum 10 with the ratchet teeth positioned to be engaged by a reciprocating pawl, not shown, in order to intermittently rotate the pattern drum in equal arcuate increments during operation of the knitting machine. With the ratchet wheel 15 fastened atone end of the drum a conventional abutment is provided on the drum.

The individual pattern elements 18 and 19 for the purpose of this specification may be considered as being constituted only in two distinct lengths, a short length element 18 and a long length element 19, however, it is contemplated that in other pattern applications other intermediate length elements may be employed with comparable results.

The individual pattern elements 18 and 19 are distin guishable from each other only by their lengths. The pattern elements are preferably made of high carbon steel which may be suitably heat treated to provide for greater wear resistance on the contact surfaces, however, in some applications the elements may also be made of non-fer rous materials such as nylon, Teflon, as well as others.

The configuration of the individual pattern elements of a preferred embodiment presents substantially an isosceles trapezial plane area which will protrude from the carrier drum periphery with the sides and 21 radiating toward the drum axis. Each of the elements is rectangular in cross section. Integrally formed on each of the removable pattern elements is a slot engaging tip portion 17 which extends from the reduced base of the trapezium. The distal end of the tip portion may be chamfered slightly in order to facilitate the reception and seating of the element tips into the drum slots 13.

Itwill be readily evident that the outer periphery 23 of a pattern constituted by the long length elements and the inner periphery 24 of the pattern constituted by the short elements will both be circular and each periphery will have a diiferent radius. The outer ends of the elements 18 and 19 may be arcuate to conform to the circle having the respective radii in order to avoid a jagged sawtooth periphery. Since the individual elements are arranged substantially adjacent to each other and the elements are quite numerous around the drum periphery, the chord length of the elements will approach the curvature of the circle depending upon the number of pattern elements employed. In those applications where a large number of separate elements are arranged around the drum periphery, the contact surfaces or bases 25 and 26 may be substantially straight. However, where only a few elements are employed about the pattern periphery the bases 25 and 26 may be arcuate conforming substantially to the pattern circle.

As it will not be necessary to entirely disassemble a pattern formed by the present invention once it has been assembled, the constituted pattern of Fig. 1 will be described by considering the completed pattern illustrated in Fig. 1, and more particularly by describing a single vertical column designated by the reference character 27 since the other columns around the drum periphery are substantially similar to column 27 with the exception of the order of the pattern element lengths. Normally a base ring element 28 is positioned directly against the ratchet wheel 15 in order to provide a shoulder or abutment against which the first horizontal row of elements may be based. This ring element 28 provides a base on which to build a pattern in vertical columns around the drum periphery. The individual pattern elements corresponding to the first horizontal row of the desired pattern may then be inserted into the slots 13 in a suitable index sequence. A fiat ring or disk 29 having an outer diameter which will limit protrusion of the ring from the inner pattern periphery is placed immediately above the first horizontal row of elements. Then a second horizontal row of pattern elements may be inserted into the slots 13 to conform to the desired pattern sequence after which another fiat ring 29 is placed over the second horizontal row or tier of pattern elements and so on until the complete pattern is formed on the drum.

In vertical column 27 there are 18 long length elements 19 and 15 short length elements 18 with intermediate ring elements 29 positioned between each of the elements to form the vertical tiers.

A top spacer ring 30 is positioned directly over the top tier of elements with a clamping ring 31 and a top clamping disk 32 mounted on the spacer ring 39 to retain the assembled pattern drum elements and rings in position. Fastening screws 33, or other suitable clamping means, are passed through the disk openings 34 in the clamping disk 32 with the screws being threadably received in the threaded openings 35 in the end of the drum it Upon tightening the fastening screws 33 all the pattern elements and rings will be maintained in a fixed relation on the drum.

When pattern changes or modifications are to be made it will only be necessary to loosen the clamping screws 33 slightly in order to relieve any pressure that may be ex- 4 erted on the rings and the individual elements. By using tweezers or other comparable pattern element grasping means the individual elements of one length may be removed and replaced by an element of a different length to form the new pattern. Having interposed the axially spaced rings 29 throughout the drum the individual pattern elements in a vertical row may be removed without disrupting the remaining elements within the same vertical row. As long as there are sufiicient elements remaining on the carrier drum and these remaining elements are suitably spaced around the drum periphery to support each individual ring in position, a very large number of the pattern elements may be removed from about the drum without removing all the pattern elements and reassembling an entire drum to obtain the new pattern. Once the new pattern face has been formed by the pattern insert elements the fastening screws 33 may be tightened again and the drum will be ready for operation.

By utilizing suitable fixtures to support and index the pattern drums in accordance with a developed pattern plan sequence an entire pattern formation may be fabricated with an appreciable saving in time. The pattern elements may be reused repeatedly and interchangeably throughout the carrier drum.

Obviously many modifications and variations may be made in the construction and arrangement of the pattern insert elements and the axial spacing of the spacer disk rings in the light of the above teachings without departing from the real spirit and purpose of this invention. it is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims many modified forms of structure as well as the use of mechanical equivalents may be reasonably included and modifications are contemplated.

What is claimed is:

1. A changeable pattern drum of the character described for a knitting machine comprising a carrier drum having longitudinal slots circumferentially spaced about the drum periphery, each of said slots reaching inward radially, an abutment fastened to one end of the drum, individual pattern elements insertable independently into the drum slots to form a raised pattern configuration about the drum, said pattern elements having distinguishable lengths, one element length forming a raised pattern configuration and the other element length forming the pattern relief, each of said elements having a plane trapezium configuration and a reduced tip portion at one end integrally formed thereon, said tip portion being chamfered for tip reception into a drum slot, the sides of the trapezium extending radially outward to a base, a plurality of rings encircling the drum and axially spaced between vertically stacked. pattern elements, said rings encircling and engaging the inner portions of the pattern elements adjacent the tip portion connection, and means for releasably clamping the pattern elements and rings in fixed relation to each other.

2. A changeable pattern drum of the character de scribed for knitting machines comprising a carrier drum having longitudinal slots circumferentially spaced about the drum periphery, each of said slots reaching inward radially, individual pattern elements insertable independently into the drum slots to form a raised pattern configuration about the drum, said pattern elements having distinguishable lengths, one element length forming the raised pattern configuration and the other element length forming the pattern relief, each of said elements having an integrally formed tip portion for tip reception into a drum slot, a plurality of rings encircling the drum and axially spaced between vertically stacked elements for engaging the inner portions of the pattern elements and means for releasably clamping the pattern elements and rings into fixed relation to each other on the carrier drum.

3. An alterable pattern face for knitting machines pattern drums comprising a carrier drum having longitudinally extending slots circumferentially spaced about the drum periphery, said slots extending inward radially, in-

dependent pattern elements of different lengths individually insertable selectively into the drum slots to form a raised pattern face, a series of rings spaced axially from each other and encircling the drum periphery, each of said rings being supported in a fixed plane position by a number of pattern elements about the drum whereby individual pattern elements may be removed from the slots for altering :a pattern with the other pattern elements remaining in situ within the same longitudinal slot, and means for releasably clamping the elements and rings in position.

4. A knitting machine drum of the character described for making alterable patterns comprising a cylindrical carrier drum having longitudinal slots circumferentially spaced about the drum periphery, said slots extending radially inward, an abutment at one end of the drum, independent pattern elements of selective lengths individually insertable into or removable from the drum slots, rings encircling the drum periphery and spaced axially from each other, each of the rings being retained in position by the pattern elements about the drum periphery, said independent pattern elements being replaceable without disturbing all of the elements in the same longitudinal slot, and means for frictionally retaining the elements and rings in a fixed position on the drum.

5. A drum for changeable patterns for use with autornatic knitting machines comprising a pattern element carrier drum having slots about the drum periphery, independent pattern elements of varying lengths selectively insertable and removable from the slots, rings encircling the drum, said rings being spaced axially from each other to support a number of pattern elements in the vertical columns, and means for releasably retaining the elements and rings in position.

6. A drum for facilitating pattern changes on automatic knitting machines comprising a drum having circumferentially spaced longitudinal slots, independent pattern elements of selective lengths individually insertable radially into and removable radially from the slots to form a series of vertically stacked rows of elements about the drum periphery, means for maintaining in situ selected pattern elements in a vertical row as individual elements or a large number of pattern elements are removed at random positions within the vertical row, and means for releasably retaining the pattern elements in position on the drum.

7. A drum for facilitating pattern changes on knitting machines comprising a carrier drum on which a pattern may be formed, removable individual pattern elements of different lengths corresponding to a predetermined configuration supported by the drum in vertical rows around the drum periphery, individual means encircling the drum periphery for segregating the individual pattern elements vertically in a row whereby selective elements may be removed for substitution by different length elements and the remaining elements will remain in situ in a vertical row, and means for releasably clamping the elements and element segregating means together for drum operation.

8. A drum for facilitating pattern changes on automatic knitting machines comprising a cylindrical drum having inwardly projecting longitudinal slots throughout the drum periphery, a series of individual pattern elements of different selective lengths insertable into and removable from the slots, said elements being stacked in vertical tiers to form a desired pattern, axially spaced division means for supporting at least one circumferential row of pattern elements and to facilitate removal and replacement of selective elements for pattern mutation in the same vertical stack without disturbing all the elements constituting the vertical stack, and means for securing the elements and division means in operative relation.

9. An alterable pattern face drum of the character described for knitting machines comprising a cylindrical pattern carrier drum having longitudinal slots spaced circumferentially about the drum periphery, independent elements of different lengths receivable in the longitudinal slots at one end of each element and forming a desired pattern face on the outer end of the selectively positioned elements, said elements forming a vertical series of continuous circumferential rows about the drum periphery, pattern element segregating means interposed between circumferential rows and bearing on preceding circumferential rows of elements to support a succeeding circumferential row of elements whereby individual pattern elements may be selectively removed and replaced in a vertical row with the remaining elements being maintained in situ, and means for releasably clamping the elements and segregating means in position on the carrier drum.

10. A pattern drum for automatic knitting machines comprising a pattern element carrier hub having longitudinal slots spaced about the hub circumference, independently radially removable pattern elements arranged in stacks within and projecting radially from the slots, means forsegregating the pattern elements in tiers circumferentially about the hub whereby individual selective elements in a tier may be replaced while the remaining elements in a stack remain in situ, and means for frictionally retaining the pattern elements and segregating means together about the hub surface for operation on a knitting machine.

11. A changeable pattern surface for pattern drums to be used on automatic knitting machines comprising a cylindrical pattern element carrier drum, said drum having longitudinal slots projecting radially into the drum about the drum periphery, a series of individual pattern elements of different selective lengths formulating a raised pattern face, said pattern elements insertable into and removable from the slots and stacked in vertical tiers to form a desired pattern, means for dividing the tiers axially into self-sustaining pattern element units whereby individual pattern elements may be replaced selectively for pattern mutation, and means for clamping the pattern elements and division means to form a composite pattern drum for operation on a knitting machine.

12. A drum for facilitating pattern mutations compris ing a cylindrical drum having circumferentially spaced longitudinal slots about the drum periphery, independent pattern elements of varying lengths selectively insertable and removable radially from the slots each of said elements having radially divergent sides and a reduced slot engaging tip end, said pattern elements being stacked vertically in the slots to form a vertical pattern row, means for segregating the pattern elements in vertical tiers circumferentially about the drum whereby individual elements in a tier may be removed and replaced with the other elements in the vertical row remaining in situ, and means for releasably clamping the elements and segregating means in position.

13. For use in making pattern mutations on a pattern drum having peripheral radially extending slots, a pattern element having diverging radial sides, saidsides terminating at the pattern face end substantially normal to the element sides, and said element having a reduced slot engaging tip portion at the other end.

14. For use in making pattern mutations on a pattern drum having peripheral radially extending slots, a pattern element having diverging radial sides and rectangular cross-sectional area, said sides terminating at a pattern face end substantially normal to the element sides, said element further having a reduced slot engaging tip portion at the other end integrally formed on the element and said tip being chamfered at the extremity to facilitate slot insertion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

